The Stokians and the Erīeds: Eons before the events of the first book, the Stokians and Erīeds fought a great war. The Erīeds are a religious cult of anti-death. Through their great technology they discovered the Dark Fire and found that by altering their molecular makeup with the Dark Fire, could transcend the limits of humanity. They could live forever, be eternally youthful, eternally beautiful, eternally strong. But to be trans-human meant leaving some of their humanity behind. In order to sustain their long lives, they became vampiric creatures that feed on the blood of other homo sapiens. The Erīeds built massive starships to carry their anti-death crusade to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, and hunt the blood that sustains them.

The Erīeds were eventually thrown back by the Stokians, the most advanced of all human races throughout the cosmos. The Stokians found a way to bond the All Fire to one individual through the Theomorphosis Chamber, making this individual a living weapon of mass destruction to the Erīeds. The Stokians eventually win the war. But their civilization is destroyed. The Erīeds retreat but vow to return. The Stokians scatter across the universe. Some Stokian refugees arrive to the planet of Ninivon, with the Theomorphosis Chamber.

The Peoples of Ninivon: Each of the various ethnic groups inhabiting Ninivon is based off historic peoples. Some of these connections are easy to decipher, others are not quite as clear. In totality, Ninivon is a world comprised of most of the great, pre-industrial revolution, civilizations. This allows for a fantasy world rooted in historical realism, as well as provides a backdrop for “dream matches” between armies and different types of warriors, separated by thousands of miles and years in the real world. For example, what would have happened if Greek hoplites had ever taken the field against Japanese Samurai, or the light calvary of the Commanche people? The battles in the Σ Series proposes answers to these questions.   

Non-Human Sentient Creatures: Mer-peoples inhabit the underwater kingdom of Itzel. Angels fly between their high towers in the Sky Piercer mountains. And Cyclopes served as guardians and keepers of the dragon pits before the Vampire hunted the dragons to the point of extension. Ninivon is bursting with these non-human sentient races, all very human like and with their own rich cultures and histories. But also unique, their national and ethnic stories having been carved by their defining characteristics. Aside from making Ninivon a more interesting world, these various races also allow for a more dynamic history in which humans live alongside mermaids and angels, as well as make for interesting military experiments for the distinct roles these peoples can play on a battlefield both with and against humans. Like the human nations, each of these groups is based off of historic peoples.   

Monsters: Ninivon is filled with a number of monsters and beasts from both traditional fantasy as well a Greek mythology. Among these are trolls, centaurs, sea monsters, frost giants, and of course dragons. Additionally, the Lycan Woodlands are home to the Great Wolves, enormous wolves the size of bears.

All of these creatures inhabit various parts of Ninivon and interact with the human populations in various ways. While not every monster is part of Book I: Thumos Rising, before the end of the Sigma Series, each of these creatures will play a central role in the narrative. 

The Republic of Eighteen: The Republic of Eighteen is the one world government that ruled Ninivon before it was overthrown by the Vampire. As suggested in the name, it consists of eighteen nations. These are referred to in the series as the “civilized” nations of Ninivon. Quite analogous to the Galactic Republic from Star Wars, or the Seven Kingdoms from Game of Thrones, the Republic of Eighteen has its own internal workings and politics, and whole volumes of spin-offs could be written about any period of the Republic’s history. The Republic politically functions like the Roman Republic, with two archons (the Greek word for ruler), serving as consuls, a senate made up of the aristocrats from each member nation, and democratic voting to select the two archons.

The Magic System: The magic system of Ninivon works in conjunction with the concept of the All Fire. All material change, be it the healing of a wound, or, much more difficult, disbanding the atoms of a stone and reconfiguring them into the atoms of an apple, is actualized through mutation of the All Fire, which is the material of all things. The All Fire can change on its own. For example, the molecules of a human body are eventually transmuted into the molecules of a tree. But this takes time through the process of both decomposition and recomposition.

Magic allows sorcerers to hijack the All Fire’s power to change physical material and speed it up, as well as direct it for a specific end. This is accomplished through spoken incantations. It is not the meaning of the words that matter, rather, their sound. The syllables, when spoke in a particular pattern and way, through soundwaves, compel the All Fire to mutate, bringing about the magicians desired effect. While any mutation is in theory possible, the time and duration, as well as the specificity of the incantations, are not always humanly possible. It takes time, concentration, and years of practice to master what sounds bring about what changes.

Furthermore, there is a price to the magic user. In living creatures, mutation of atoms brings about mutations in cells, abnormalities, both toxic and terminal. In a word, use of magic causes what we would call cancer. Meaning magic users must be careful not to expose themselves by practicing too much magic for too long throughout their lives. Those whose bodies have succumbed to decades of magic use are banished to the Polluted Waste Lands. The only one exempt from this heavy price is the one who is indwelt with the All Fire, Zeno. But even he has his limits.

All magic use and users function the same. While the words “white magic” and “black magic,” “witches, sorcerers, warlocks,” and “wizards” are all used. They function as synonyms and betray more the biases of the speaker than they do any real difference between magic users. 

The Egoga: The egoga is the elite military training program of the Republic which collects talented children all throughout Ninivon and turns them into Rangers, the protectors of the Republic and greatest warriors of Ninivon. The egoga is based off the Spartan agoge (and is just the agoge spelled backwards). All citizen children of the Republic, regardless of wealth, race, religion, or status take the Trials when they are nine. If they pass, they begin the training program at eleven. They are divided into age grades and train for twelve years. Upon completion, graduates are awarded the rank of Rangers. Initiates are taught hand to hand combat, as well as how to fight with the weapons and in the style of all the member nations of the Republic of Eighteen, making them incredibly versatile. 

They are also trained in the liberal arts, science, civics, rhetoric, languages (all initiates speak both their mother tongue and the common tongue of the Republic, which is derived from Elledic. In addition, they must learn two other languages, one from another Republic member, another from those peoples outside the Republic), and most of all, history. The goal is to make the initiates not just mindless soldiers, but living embodiments of the enlightenment of Republican principles in an otherwise dark and barbaric world.  

The Rangers: Once they complete their training in the egoga, the initiates become Rangers. They are effectively the special forces of the Republic of Eighteen. They can deploy anywhere in Ninivon either in large force, or as a crack unit. With most of the world unified under one government, the lion’s share of their combat is with those peoples and creatures that exist outside of the Republic’s jurisdiction. However, in cases of civil unrest, they may be utilized within member nations to fight back insurgencies and organized crime.

The Rangers are also the “guardians” of the Republic, in the sense of Plato’s Republic. As the guardians, or “silver men,” serve the greater good in Plato’s ideal state so private citizens can live their lives in safety and rulers can justly lead, so the Rangers provide both safety and strength to the Republic of Eighteen. 

The Rapti: From the Latin perfect-passive participle, Rapio, which means “to take,” the Rapti are the “taken” monsters of Ninivon. Created by a degraded from of the virus that created the Erīeds, the Rapti are the children of the Vampire, who can transfer the virus through his bite. Once the virus sets in, the All Fire within the host is extinguished by the Dark Fire, granting the Rapti everlasting life, but stripping them of their consciousness and condemning them to a never-ending thirst for human blood. The Rapti are not vampires in the traditional sense, nor are they zombies, they are something in between.

These are the great weapon the Vampire used to conquer Ninivon and by which he maintains control. The Rapti are legion and they have no fear, feel no pain, but exist solely for the purpose of consuming blood. The Vampire is the only one who can control them. Their terror is other worldly…but the Σ is not of this world.